Washington -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- President Barack Obama signed a sweeping overhaul of child nutrition standards Monday , enacting a law meant to encourage better eating habits in part by giving the federal government more authority to set standards for food sold in vending machines and elsewhere on school grounds .

Among other things , the $ 4.5 billion measure provides more money to poor areas to subsidize free meals and requires schools to abide by health guidelines drafted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture . To help offset the higher cost of including more fruits and vegetables , the bill increases the reimbursement rate for school lunches .

The bill is about `` giving our kids the healthy futures they deserve , '' the president said during a bill signing ceremony at a Washington elementary school . `` Right now across the country too many kids do n't have access to school meals . ''

Even when they do , he added , too often the meals are n't sufficiently nutritious . As a result , he said , one out of every three children in America is overweight or obese .

Some Democrats had objected to the bill because it is funded in part by stripping $ 2.2 billion from the federal food stamp program . Congress also voted over the summer to take money from the program to fund legislation sending money to cash-strapped states to avoid teacher layoffs .

The cuts largely negate a spending increase provided to the food stamp program by the 2009 economic stimulus plan . Administration officials reportedly have promised anxious liberals that they will work to find ways to restore the higher funding levels .

The measure has been a top priority for first lady Michelle Obama , who has championed it as part of her `` Let 's Move '' initiative to combat child obesity in the United States .

`` Had I not been able to get this bill passed , I would be sleeping on the couch , '' the president joked shortly before signing the measure into law .

`` We wo n't go into that , '' the first lady said . `` Let 's just say it got done . Do n't have to go down that road . ''

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President Obama signs a bill meant to encourage healthier eating habits among children

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The measure gives the government more power to set standards for schools

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The bill , which costs $ 4.5 billion , provides funding to subsidize meals for lower income children